


Expelliallmus

by Northerly_Zephyr



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: A New Golden Trio(?), AU-ish sorta though they're trying to save people but not mess with too much else, Body Swap (Good job Ron), Gen, Make That A Golden Quartet, Neither will anyone else, No bashing of anyone (except maybe some bad guys into walls or other various objects), Ripple Effect gonna ripple though, Slow burn friendship, The Dursleys won't know what hit them, Time Shenanigans, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-07 09:08:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17363126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Northerly_Zephyr/pseuds/Northerly_Zephyr
Summary: Interconnected short stories/chapters with a few longer bits now and again, eventually encompassing all seven years of the books.Ron wanted to go back and change the future for the better with fewer deaths dogging the past, deciding to drag along Harry and Draco for the ride to help him out. (Without asking them of course. Better to beg forgiveness than permission, right?) Throw in the fact that Harry and Draco somehow switched bodies during the magical journey to the past, and this unlikely trio will have to try and set things right as they can without blowing their cover wide open.Good job, Ron.





	1. Awakening on the Hogwarts Express

_**"Gryffindor!"**_  the Sorting Hat boomed without hesitation to a packed Great Hall as soon as the Sorting Hat was placed upon his head, and Draco Malfoy knew that something was wrong, terribly wrong.

Where  _WAS_  he? Or more accurately, he supposed, since he already knew exactly where he was- Hogwarts, WHEN was he? This was back in the Great Hall of Hogwarts during a Sorting Ceremony, and since the hat had been placed upon his head it must have been his first year- in fact, his very first _day_...except that he most definitely had  _not_  been sorted into Gryffindor when he'd attended the school. Time and events had changed him in a few ways and softened him at least a bit, but Draco couldn't- and wouldn't- deny that had been every ounce a Slytherin on the day of his Sorting Ceremony all those years ago.

All he remembered was going to bed the previous night in his home next to Astoria after seeing Scorpius off to Hogwarts for another year, then fuzzily waking up to sitting down and having the Sorting Hat eagerly waiting to make its assessment.

Surely this was some strange dream of his past that his mind had decided to play out for him, but why had he been sorted into _Gryffindor_ in what he presumed to be his memories? _Why_ was he even dreaming of his Hogwarts days to start with? And, as he had the hat removed from his head and reluctantly headed over to the standing, clapping Gryffindor table who were welcoming him with smiles and cheers, he also got to wonder with a large jolt of fear coursing down his spine _why was his younger self sitting amongst the throng of students at the Slytherin table_? His head started to pound as he sat down, handshakes and names flying at him and circling like a hundred pixies nagging for attention. He managed a few shakes, nods and weak smiles to the other Gryffindors  _(what in God's name was going on?)_  before placing his head into his hands and letting out a light groan as he tried to figure out what was happening, a headache almost immediately beginning to form as the din of cheering and conversation filled the Great Hall.

* * *

The sounds of a train slowly filtered into Draco's ears as he awakened with somewhat of a jolt, realizing that he'd been dozing on a seat on a train. Wait...a _train_? He then glanced around and realized that he was, somehow, on the Hogwarts Express, a young Crabbe and Goyle sitting across the compartment from him. He then realized that between them was... _himself_ , the only change his striking green eyes that glanced up at him with a mix of puzzlement and worry, 'Draco' studying him closely and frowning before his eyes moved around the compartment as well, the other boy clearly trying to find his bearings as well.

 _Green eyes_? Did that mean-?

He glanced down at his body ( _was_  it considered his body now? He supposed it was) and saw an outfit he would never have been caught in. Draco's eyes narrowed, realizing that if someone (and he had his firm suspicion who it was- those emerald eyes were a dead giveaway) was in his younger body, then _he_ was in someone else's. And that someone else  _had_  to be Potter. _Somehow_. He reached up and to the sides of his face and felt to see if he had glasses, and was not surprised at all when his fingers brushed and then curled around cheap wire frames. Draco was just trying to somehow subtly catch Potter's attention to drag him to some corner somewhere and ask him what in the world was going on, more than part of him wondering if this was some strange variety of dream that he still needed to wake up from, when he caught a significant look from Ron Weasley out of the corner of his eye, then the redhead's eyes darting over to the only even partially empty spot a few times in a 'We're going over there' gesture.

"Harry? Malfoy? Can I, uh, talk to you both for a second over there?" Ron tossed his head over to the corner, the other two slowly getting up and looking at each other again quizzically before joining him over in the corner.

"OK, Weasely. What in the  _hell_  is going on here?" Draco hissed as soon as they were gathered together, Harry's voice jarring him as he softly spoke aloud. Draco's mind buzzed with discord after he spoke, as if it was unwilling to accept a voice that was so different from his internal dialogue. "Why are we back on the Express and even _more_ importantly _how and why the bloody hell am I in Potter's body_? _"_

"Yeah. Um, Ron?" Harry moved his arm up and down, indicating Draco's body that he was somehow currently residing in. "What in the world did you _do_? I was hoping this was some kind of crazy dream, but it's _not_ , is it?"

"I, uh," replied Ron, furtively glancing around the Express before leaning in and continuing quietly to the pair, "I wanted to come back and try and fix things and wanted some help and I may have messed the spell up a  _little_  bit, alright?" He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Turns out time travel without access to a Time-Turner's... _tricky_ , especially bringing others along at the same time _and_ trying to not have memories reset. You two must have gotten...well. _Mixed up_ , I guess would be the way to put it."

Draco's eyes narrowed. "So let me get this right, Weasely. Without asking _either_ Potter _or_ I, you decided to drag us back in time almost _thirty years_?" Realizing that they were being openly gawked at, especially by Crabbe and Goyle, the three then spread back out to their respective seats, but Draco had every intention of continuing their little chat as soon as they got to Hogwarts.


	2. The Sorting Ceremony, Part 1

"You could have  _asked first_ , you realize. I very likely _would_ have said no to this harebrained scheme, but still." Draco sighed and shook his head as he quietly muttered the sentence into the chilly evening. "I could have prepared notes on events, money, supplies, other necessities- but  _no_ , now we get to basically wing it. Oh yeah, and let's not forget Potter and I being each other now somehow, too.  _Stunning_  work, Weasely."

The trio was huddled together on one of the boats heading across to Hogwarts a few hours after they'd awoken on the Hogwarts Express, Harry nodding in agreement with Draco and rolling his eyes as they held the whispered conversation as best they could on the boat over the general din of excitement and conversation as the school loomed in the distance after passing through the tunnel. "Besides, I've gotta ask. Why drag along Malfoy, too? And I also  _heartily_  second the 'asking first' bit."

"W-well I figured you'd both say no...so er, yeah I kinda just did it and figured we'd sort it all out once we're here. I honestly wanted to bring Hermione, too, but the spell would have been stretched too thin with four of us and the results probably would have been even worse than it _already_ is. Time manipulation is, uh, trickier than it looks." Ron then waved a hand dismissively before nodding at Harry, tossing his head toward Draco in Harry's body. "And I figured Malfoy could help us foil the Death Eaters and their plots from within, since he knows a lot about their organization and stuff since his family was so involved. It's why I chose him over Hermione."

Draco gave Ron an icy look that seemed strange coming from Harry's face, his whispered tone very sarcastic. "Well I can  _certainly_  do that as Potter, can't I? Oh  _wait_."

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his now whitish blonde hair. "Yeah, we're gonna have to figure out a plan, but first things first now that we're here, I guess. We're almost to Hogwarts, which means dealing with getting Sorted." He sat up a bit and looked around before crouching back down and whispering quietly again. "I wonder if we can even fool the Sorting Hat, but we may want to try and get Sorted into the same House if we can. It would probably make things easier in the long run, because I'm assuming we'll basically be stuck trying to fix things for the next seven plus years." He glanced over at Ron balefully before rubbing his ears a bit, Draco's voice still sounding odd to him as he verbalized his thoughts. "My experience was that the Hat basically gave me a choice- that I could have been great in either Slytherin or Gryffindor, but it did actually gave me the option of choosing. So I don't think the Sortings are set in stone or anything."

"Agreed." Draco glanced up at Harry, Harry's voice still sounding odd to Draco's ear. "That would make things infinitely easier  _if_  that's the case and we can manage it. Now the question is if we can pull it off."

* * *

 _'What the?'_  The Sorting Hat was immediately confused, almost speaking the words aloud as soon as it was placed on 'Draco Malfoy's' head though immediately switching to its usual telepathy for the Sorting deliberations.  _'Uh. Wow, you're much older than you look and aren't in the right body to boot! Some kind of new magic? Maybe time manipulation involved too, eh?'_  The Hat was definitely baffled, though very interested as well, its tone almost jovial as its 'voice' filled Harry's mind.

 _'Er...yes, actually, both of those things I suppose. Hello again.'_  Harry couldn't help himself and grinned a bit as he sat on the stool.  _'I could actually use a favor, if you don't mind. You see, we've come back to correct some things and save lives- well, actually, I wasn't consulted about it first and neither was Malfoy, but that's what's happened and we're here now- and we're trying to get sorted into the same House to make our lives easier.'_

 _'Mmm, as much as I'd love to do favors for friends and whatnot, I have to be truthful about the Houses and where students are best suited to avoid hatstalls. But I need to ascertain your intentions first before I keep this under my hat, so to speak. Just a moment while I delve into your mind.'_  Harry involuntarily shuddered a bit as he felt the sensation of gentle tendrils prodding at his mind for a bit, the deepest recesses of his mind being read by whatever strange magic the Sorting Hat possessed.  _'Well I'll be! If it isn't Harry Potter himself!'_  The Hat laughed.  _'This time I admit I see no Slytherin in you aside from that body you're borrowing- just Gryffindor, or Ravenclaw if you're a little more interested in matters of the mind this go-round. Those are the options I present to you.'_  The Hat was delighted as it gave Harry his choices.  _'Wow, this is kind of fascinating, actually! I don't usually get to Sort someone twice. Quite interesting how someone can change over time.'_

Harry mulled it over as everyone waited with bated breath for the next Sort to finish, deciding that Ravenclaw was probably the best middle ground for the three of them. He wasn't overly worried about Malfoy getting in with the ravens, but he was worried that Ron would get sorted into either Hufflepuff or Gryffindor- academics never  _had_  been Ron's strong suit, after all, and that was what Ravenclaw prided itself as a House on.  _On the other hand, that would be beginning to alter history already- is that really a wise move?_

 _'Ravenclaw it is, then!' **"Ravenclaw!"**_  the Hat firmly cried aloud after reading Harry's thoughts, the Sorting finished as Harry got up off the stool and the Ravenclaw table erupted in cheers and clapping for their newest House member.  _'I'll see what can be done for your friends, but I can make no promises,'_  the Hat finished before it was plucked off of 'Draco's' head.  _Well, here goes nothing now that history's already being changed,_  Harry thought wryly as he headed towards blue and bronze instead of scarlet and gold, smiles and handshakes and welcomes greeting him as he took a seat.

Now to wait and see which houses Draco and Ron landed in.


	3. The Sorting Ceremony, Part 2

_'Ah, you must be one of the friends Harry mentioned to me. In his body no less, I see.'_  The Sorting Hat was placed on 'Harry Potter's' head as the Sorting Ceremony continued, the Hat learning to adjust to having to read a soul inhabiting someone else's body, though it had to admit that the readings were rather interesting.  _'Hmm...I definitely sense the Slytherin ambition still, but you'd also have a lot of potential in Ravenclaw as well with how you've matured, just as I sensed in Harry.'_

 _'I wouldn't necessarily use the word 'friends' but yes...we know each other and we're stuck here like this now thanks to Weasely.'_  Draco made an annoyed face as he sat on the stool and let out a small huff under his breath, everyone watching and wondering which House the legendary Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter, the boy who _somehow_ improbably survived the wrath of He Who Must Not Be Named, would wind up being Sorted to. The room's conversation level was at more of a whispered mumbling instead of the dull roar it had been during the other Sortings, and Draco could feel the roomful of eyes on him. _'Our souls got mixed up or something, I presume, when Weasely yanked us back here to the past to our younger bodies- not that he_ asked _Potter or I before doing it because_ that _would have been the intelligent thing to do. So now we're just going to have to make this try and work like this or we risk being discovered.'_

The Hat frowned as it concentrated, trying to draw a bead on Draco's personality and select a House for him.  _'This is the closest I've been to a hatstall in a long while actually, if I'm being honest. You show cunning and ambition as you always have, yet are also very intelligent and want to ultimately make the correct choices- time and experience have also definitely changed you for the better in some ways.'_  The Sorting Hat pondered silently for a few moments, Draco wondering how drastically Harry Potter being sorted into Slytherin would alter the timeline if it wound up happening.  _Would be one_ hell _of a way to start things off though, wouldn't it?_  Draco thought with an unbidden half-smirk, visualizing the reaction of _that_ news getting out to the magical community before the Hat made its decision after a few more moments of carefully reading and analyzing Draco's thoughts and personality.  ** _"Ravenclaw!"_**

The Grand Hall erupted into a buzz of excited conversation after the House was called and cheers erupted from the Ravenclaw table as the Hat was removed from 'Harry's' head. Draco slowly wandered over to the raven's table and took a seat by Harry, the two exchanging quick nods as Draco was warmly welcomed into the fold by the rest of his now fellow Ravenclaws. "Now to see if Weasely can get in," Draco muttered under his breath to Harry after he got settled in, quietly so it would carry under the din of conversation going on around them, the other man in a boy's body making a face but finding himself nodding in agreement. Harry had to admit that was definitely worried about that himself. Ron was...well, very much still _Ron_  after all this time, and Harry knew it was doubtful that the Hat would place Ron's personality in a House that valued intelligence, cleverness and academic achievement above most all else. Ron was a great, courageous, loyal friend, but a bookworm Ron Weasely was _not_. 

* * *

The Sorting Hat laughed after finally being placed on Ron's head, feeling the panic that the man residing in his past body was feeling. Ron could somehow  _feel_ Draco and Harry, in particular, staring at him intently from the Ravenclaw table amongst the pairs of eyes currently on him after he'd taken the seat on the stool.  _'Oh, my. Just a_ little _stressed out about this, are we?'_

Ron groaned internally. _'I...I was really hoping they'd both wind up in Hufflepuff of Gryffindor so that we had a chance of all being in the same House.'_

The Hat let out a snort, somehow, through its mouth as it delved into Ron's thoughts and began its analysis.  _'Neither was enough of a Hufflepuff to merit that House selection- and quite frankly, neither are you. I also couldn't in good conscience have sorted Draco into Gryffindor- he is not enough of a Gryffindor even with his changes to have made that choice for him.'_

 _'Well it's, um, kind of my fault that they're both here...and somehow in each other's body, too. So I was kind of hoping to look after them, maybe see what can be done about switching them back into their proper bodies while we try and change things for the better? That would be made heaps easier if we're all in the same House.'_  Ron let out a deep breath, the Hat feeling like a lead weight on his head.  _'Err, what about me going to Ravenclaw with them? Is that possible?'_

A tight, barked laugh emitted from the Hat after Ron finished mentally asking the question, causing more than a few to glance at the stool in surprise.  _'Sorry, but_  you?  _In_  Ravenclaw?  _I see not a drop of Ravenclaw in you, Ron. That option is right out.'_  Ron groaned softly before the Hat asked a question.

 _'I've basically made my choice for you already, but I've one more question. Did you_ really _come back to the past without any kind of plan, and also drag the other two with you without consulting Harry or Draco first? All to try and change the future for the better?'_

Ron fidgeted uncomfortably in the stool, but knew he couldn't lie to something that could _quite_ literally read every one of his thoughts.  _'I did, yes.'_

The Hat let out another barked laugh.  _'I'm afraid that only serves to further cement my decision, in that case. How utterly, quintessentially Gryffindor of you. Godric would be pleased.' **"Gryffindor!"**_

Ron just let out a dejected sigh as the Hat was removed from his head, wondering why he'd hoped that it would be that easy as the scarlet and gold erupted into cheers and clapping for their newest House member.


	4. Settling In

"Alright, Potter, we have a few problems we need to solve _already_ , including a mystery." 

Draco shot Harry an annoyed glance as the pair fell in with the other first years being escorted across the grounds towards Ravenclaw Tower, the two deliberately lagging as far behind as they dared behind the group of newly sorted Ravenclaws and the prefect, who'd introduced himself as Robin Hilliard. Harry quirked a brow in reply, glancing around to make sure they weren't being listened in on amongst the amazed gasps and oohs and ahhs of the fresh students seeing the Hogwarts grounds in person for the first time. "Oh?"

"Did it not happen to you?" Draco let out an annoyed sigh after he asked the question mildly, though Harry sensed it was more directed at the situation than him, still getting used to the bizarre sensation of watching...well, _himself_ , at least physically. A furtive look around was followed by the quietly hissed question " _How_ did the Hat know me already?" under Draco's breath as the group of first years were shown the Quidditch fields. Harry was a bit stunned at the question, realizing that Draco was absolutely right. Wasn't this supposed to be back before everything? _Literally_ starting from zero, their first hours in Hogwarts? So _how_ , and _why_ , had the Sorting Hat spoken as if it had Sorted him in the past and knew him, in fact even directly speaking of how interesting it was to get to Sort the famous Harry Potter again? Judging by Draco's question he must have had something similar happen, the thought keeping Harry occupied, _and_ worried, until they finished the tour of the grounds and reached their final destination, the western Ravenclaw Tower. 

"Welcome to Ravenclaw Tower! This is the home of our common room, our dormitories  _and_ our House's resident ghost, the Grey Lady," Robin began with a twinkle in his eye. "She generally keeps to herself, so you won't be bothered by her much as long as our common room's library is kept in order. Something that can be difficult at times due to Peeves, the school's resident poltergeist, if he decides it's one of his 'Mess with the Ravenclaws' days. That usually happens directly between his 'Mess with the Hufflepuffs' and 'Mess with the Gryffindors' days, followed by 'Mess with the Slytherins'. You could say Peeves has a _schedule_ of annoyance to keep." They wandered up a circular staircase that Harry recognized from trying to retrieve Rowena's diadem so long ago, ascending until Robin gestured towards what Harry knew was the door to the Ravenclaw common room itself on the fifth floor, the eagle knocker seeming to eye the newcomers expectantly. "We're the cleverest and brightest of Hogwarts, so who wants to guess what we need to do to get into our common room? And don't be fooled, this _is_ indeed our door, even though there's no keyhole."

"Ooh!" piped up a blonde-haired girl among them, raising her hand eagerly. "Um, solve a puzzle?"

"Very close! We'll have to solve a riddle. Now let's see what we get!" Robin knocked and the knocker responded:

"What question can you never, _honestly_ , answer yes to?"

There was a soft murmuring for a bit before a sandy-haired boy spoke up. "I think I have it! The answer is 'Are you sleeping?'"

"Well done," the knocker replied before the hidden door swung open, revealing the light and airy Ravenclaw common room with its blue and bronze colors, starry ceiling, shelves and shelves of books, comfortable spots scattered about to read those books and commanding views of the mountains.

A while later Draco and Harry immediately claimed a pair of adjacent four-poster mahogany beds covered in thick sky blue blankets directly by a window after Robin swept his hand in introduction to the Ravenclaw boys' dormitories, the introduction to the Ravenclaw common room itself complete and the boys and girls being split off to their respective dormitory sections to unpack and settle in for a bit prior to class schedules being handed out. "Once again before I leave you to settle in: Well done, first years, on becoming members of the cleverest, quirkiest and most interesting house at Hogwarts." Robin grinned before leaving the boys to their unpacking, the rustling of robes and sounds of heavy books filling the room for a bit as things were placed into their large storage trunks.

* * *

_Okay Ron, this is alright. You're not in the same House as them, but we can make do._

Ron followed the Gryffindor first years for their tour of the Hogwarts grounds, his mind going a million miles an hour. Did he take Percy into his confidence? Actually, a better question was did he risk taking  _anyone_  else into his confidence besides Draco and Harry, who he'd dragged along without asking them first? _Should_ he tell anyone?

He'd  _already_  almost blown it, hugging Fred both more intensely _and_ a little longer than he'd intended after making a point of finding Fred and George on the Hogwarts Express after that rather tense initial conversation where he'd had to reveal what he'd done to Harry and Draco. It had been as if part of his brain wanted to verify that he _really_ had done this insane thing successfully (well, minus the whole body-swapping bit with Harry and Draco, which they'd have to try and look into and figure out at some point,) his heart in his throat and Ron desperately fighting back tears as he'd realized upon finding them that the twins were _both_ there, _both_ okay, both _alive,_ both third year students full of mischief. Could he, Draco and Harry  _keep_ it that way, especially since history was _already_ being altered?

Maybe he _should_ have taken heed of all those warnings in the incredibly hard-to-acquire books he'd done his research with that stated that Time-Turners were rarely used, and time magic was effectively banished in the wake of their creation, for a _reason_. But oh well, it was what it was at this point and all they could do was press on, and Time-Turners were _far_ too restrictive in duration for the goals Ron had had in mind. Plus, well, he would know the Gryffindor password and if they needed Harry and Draco could spirit him into the Ravenclaw tower, right? _Right._  

Ron went through the rest of the tour half-distracted, trying to recall things that had happened and what exactly would need to be done this time around. By the time they were introduced to the Fat Lady and her password system and started getting settled into the dormitory, Ron was beginning to wonder about how best to introduce himself to his future wife, Hermione, because he knew her help would become invaluable down the road. ( _Why_ did the spell have to be so tricky? God, he'd wanted to bring her back as well  _so_ badly.)  He knew that the troll incident had really been the starting point for things, the event that had also solidified his friendship with Harry and Hermione, and _now_ the question was whether to let it happen the way it had, _or_ try to subtly sabotage Quirinus Quirrell's efforts, the secret Death Eater who'd almost killed Harry while the three of them had been suspecting Severus Snape thanks to coincidences and misunderstandings.

The troll in the dungeon planted by Quirrell would be the start of everything.


	5. Two Roads Diverged In A (Forbidden) Yellow Wood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone continues to enjoy, thanks so much for the kudos, bookmarks, subs and comments!

" _Why_ won't it work?!" A rather perturbed Harry was attempting to cast a basic Lumos spell with his wand, the effect nothing more than the occasional fizzling, silver spark flying out of the tip and down to the ground much like a Roman candle, the faint whiff of sulfur left on the crisp, bracing night air in his wake. The two were sneaking towards the edges of the Forbidden Forest to an agreed spot for the first of what was certain to be many, _many_ secretive meetings with Ron Weasely, the pair dodging and ducking their way towards the forest as night life quietly chittered softly and generally bustled around them, the moon and stars hidden behind a thick layer of clouds. "Come _on_! This is _first year_ stuff." A quietly mumbled conversation in the corner during a break after their shared Charms class earlier in the day had resulted in the agreement between Harry, Ron and Draco to start regularly meeting under a particularly large tree at the western edge of the forest so that they could speak without having to couch their words in front of others so as to not tip their hands.

"Out of practice with the basics, Potter?" snarked Draco mildly as they paused before he raised his own wand. " _Lumos_." Draco then dropped the wand in reflexive surprise as it also produced a feeble shower of white sparks, but from the end of the wand instead of the tip, Draco cradling his hand as he glared at the wand on the ground after it was finished going off, Harry's loose, ill-maintained glasses almost sliding right off of his borrowed face. "This...could be a _problem._ " Draco was still getting used to having to wear glasses thanks to his forcibly obtained body's severe nearsightedness, and he was annoyed as he realized that the things both needed another cleaning  _and_  were about to fall apart on him  _yet again_ as he readjusted them.

" _Wait_ a minute," Harry muttered after studying both of the wands with some interest, an idea clearly forming. "Let's try something." He then handed Draco his wand, Draco quirking a brow before catching on and picking up his own off the ground before handing it to Harry.

"Of _course_. Should have thought about that earlier, shouldn't we have?" Draco shook his head, the feel of his long-time childhood wand comfortingly familiar and solid in his hand in the wake of the craziness going on. " _Lumos_." This time his wand gently started glowing in proper response to the incantation, and he and Harry finished their arrival under the large tree to find Ron already sitting under the tree with three notebooks, writing in one of them with an intent look before he heard Draco and Harry's footsteps, greeting the two with a nod.

"Hey. So I'm thinking we should start making notes about what we remember," began Ron as he tapped the notebooks. "Figure we can compare notes and help each other flesh them out, though obviously we'll need to be careful who sees them and whatnot.  _Also_ , we've got just under two months till the troll, so we need to decide what we're doing about that."

"First things first before I go insane," Draco muttered, risking the spell now that he'd had Lumos go off without a hitch, turning his wand towards himself and touching the bridge of Harry's glasses- or, well, _his_ glasses now. " _Oculus Reparo._ " He heard a soft snapping sound and felt the glasses instantly reform themselves with satisfaction. "Better. Now, what troll? Based on the timing I assume you mean the one from the Hallowe'en Feast when they made us all go back to the dormitories? I vaguely remember it."

"That's the one. See, Quirrell actually let the thing in _himself_ ," began Ron firmly. "He was after the Philosopher's Stone, and he wanted the distraction while he tried to get it."

Harry's expression on Draco's face was grim. "Yeah, and it was actually his _second_ go too- turned out Hagrid and I just _barely_ beat him trying to snatch it at Gringotts back when we were shopping for my school supplies."

"Okay, _so_ what exactly do we want to do about the troll, if anything, or do we let it play out? I don't remember anyone getting hurt badly or killed or anything, and frankly I don't fancy mucking about with minor things too much. May not end well." Draco's tone was cautious as he quirked a brow and glanced between the other two.

Ron sighed and ran a hand through his hair, Draco noticing a distinctly guilty expression on his face as he recalled events. "That's the thing. Harry and I realized that Hermione'd been in the loo at the time as we were walking back, so we decided to go after her and wound up fighting the thing after we, er, kinda sorta locked Hermione in with it by mistake. It was the thing that wound up first cementing our friendship, really, and Hermione will be playing a pretty big role in everything, as you know." 

Draco let out a surprised noise, eyes filling with curiosity. "Really? _Do_ tell how three first-years two months into their studies took down a full-grown  _troll_. One of the professors step in or something?"

"Nah. I jumped it and stuck my wand up its nose, then Ron used its own club to knock it out."  Harry snickered at the memory, Ron's eyes and face gleaming with a mix of mischief and pride as he nodded in agreement.

This got an actual, if brief, smirk out of Draco. "I see. Well, I'm naturally aware that it will be important to keep the Golden Trio together. So, we'll sit back and let everything happen just as it did, I presume?"

Harry's eyes narrowed in thought. "Hmm. Well, _mostly_ , with a couple necessary changes. _You'll_ need to go with Ron since as far as everyone knows, we're each other, and _I'm_ going to see if I can sneak up towards the third floor and help Snape a bit if he needs it after they start moving us toward the dormitories. That's where the Stone was hidden- well _is_ hidden, now, which is why they made it off-limits. I _thought_ at the time that Snape was sneaking off after the Stone, especially when I saw him getting a bite from Fluffy treated later, but _really_ he was trying to head Quirrell off at the pass because he'd figured out that _Quirrell_ was after the Stone."

Draco stared in disbelief, his confusion clear as he spoke. "Wait... _Fluffy_?"

Ron snickered. "Yeah, one of Hagrid's pets, and his contribution to helping guard the Stone."

"Oh, _good_ ," sighed Draco. "Not looking forward to that, remembering Hagrid's _pets_." He then glanced around. "Well, probably shouldn't linger any more- head count's before long if I recall correctly, and we don't want to stick out _in absentia._ "


End file.
